China Ratifies Creation of BRICS Bank

China has officially ratified the agreement on creating New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BICS Development Bank, today, July 1. State news agency Xinhua reported the news today.

NDB represents a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). The Bank is widely considered as an alternative to Western financial institutions such as the World Bank.

The agreement on creating the Bank took place on July 15 of last year. The initial capital of the NDB was agreed at $50 billion, with the prospective increase to $100 billion.

Today’s ratification agreement was sealed by China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

China has pledged to contribute a total of $41 billion to the Bank, giving it the largest voting right at 39.5 percent, Al Jazeera reports.

“BRICS represents 42 percent of the world’s population and roughly 20 percent of the world’s economy based on GDP, and 30 percent of the world’s GDP based on PPP, a more accurate measure of real economic performance. Total trade between the countries amounts to $6.14 trillion, or nearly 17 percent of the world’s total,” writes RT.

Creation of the NDB is deemed to become an event that will change the current world order, with a power shift from the West to the East.

On the photo: Leaders of Russia, India, Brazil, China and South Africa